Fantasy 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. (discontinued)

Sabine sat up, rubbing her sleep-crusted eyes. She had left the curtains open last night; warm sunlight flooding the room as a natural alarm clock. She stared at the light beams, furrowing her brow. Was it the actual sun from Earth? Or just a facsimile made by Father Time to comfort the Timekeepers?

She shook her head. It wasn’t important. What was important was that she get up. She threw back her soft cotton bedsheets and slid from the bed, slipping her feet into a pair of house slippers.

She made for the bathroom, her nightgown swaying around her legs. She hadn’t made the switch to pajamas yet. She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth, staring at herself in the mirror.

When she was brought to the time palace for the first time, she had cut her hair with a frenzied hysteria. She liked the symbolism: cutting herself from her past. It was easier too, no longer having to carefully curl her hair around strips of paper for the perfect hair style.

She grabbed a wooden comb left on the sink counter for her, ran it through heir choppy hair, once, twice, before tossing back down to get dressed.

The closet had a large bounty of clothes of all kinds. Sabine hadn't had the confidence to wear trousers like Mei Ling but it was going to be her first assignment. Better to get used to it now rather than later.

She chose a fairly modest pair of trousers, dark brown and loose about her legs, and a loose long sleeved white shirt . Taking a page from Mei Ling's book, she wore a pair of boots, strangely already conformed to the curves of her feet. Father Time had given her several devices. She took the device and slid it into a pocket.

She poked her head out of her bedroom door, glancing around. No one was in the hall. She stepped out, hesitantly, heading for the kitchen.

A figure dressed in black was staring at the coffee machine with intense focus. Ah, Mei Ling was up. Next to her was a skinny young man who she had never seen before.

"Good morning, Mei Ling," Sabine said, looking around the bright and open kitchen. "And, er, I don't believe I've made your acquaintance."

» Hugo Steele

『 TAGGED 』 FabulousTrash eyyliner

Hugo’s eyes slowly fluttered open through an unclear haze and semi-consciousness. Not to the sound of an alarm, but to the sound of wind chimes near the window his room. They were more simplistic in design but having them in his room reminded him of the many adventures he’d been on – the wind-chimes themselves being a ‘souvenir’ he grabbed (okay, he stole them off of that one bastard that nearly shot 'phonse - sue him).

Rather than head downstairs after washing his face and brushing his teeth, he went straight for a cigarette. It was a habit that he had yet to kick after all these years. Drinking coffee like the others wasn’t really for him, it left a bitter taste on his tongue and felt foreign to him. The only other beverage which he remembers drinking in his boyhood were tea and the occasional beer.

He opened the balcony attached to his room and went there the to smoke, only interrupted by needing to flick bits off at the ash tray he had sitting on his table. His eyes slowly made their way over to the little clock on the foot of his balcony. Seven-fifteen. It was weird, the clocks around the place were a constant reminder to his link with time. He wanted to smash them all.

He then groaned letting his head rest on the wall behind where he was standing. He really didn’t want to do anything today. He went back into his room before getting full dressed. A more simplistic version of his everyday apparel. A loose white shirt, black trousers and black dress shoes followed with his travel device strapped on to his bicep underneath his shirt.

He wasn’t really in any type of rush to get to the kitchen, allowing himself to take his sweet time. The endless hallways and loops around the building were ever annoying to the average person without much patience. And Hugo was definitely one of those people. But today it almost felt like a saving grace in preserving him time to get to the kitchen. He didn’t really need to hear the accumulation of loud voices during the night.

However, tranquility didn't last forever. Once he’d manage to reach the kitchen, past the endless white corridors and staircases, he noticed the movement of people already there. He always wondered how the hell people managed to get there so quickly. Usually it was always Mei there, bright and early. And it seemed like she was the first one there too, being the only one actually stuck into a task unlike the others who were trying to make idle chatter.

Of the people there, he was familiar with two out of the four people. Mei and Sukomi were familiar faces. And whilst he knew who Vincent was, he couldn’t necessarily say that he was familiar. And then there was one of the new recruits – Sabine. Oh, to be so vulnerable and naïve. Hugo was sure that would fade with time.

"Sukomi, Mei" he said whilst nodding at the two women with acknowledgment, a form of greeting in his eyes as he walked towards the kettle before pouring water into it. He looked back at Sukomi before asking "Tea?" with an eyebrow raised. He then continued, "And if you're going to ask for any of that fancy jasmine tea bullshit then forget it and make your own."

Sabine looked at the blue-haired man speaking to her and tried to hide her surprise. She had never never seen blue hair or heard of his accent before. She glanced at the shorter man before her, Vincent, was it?

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she said, instinctively starting to curtsy before realizing she was wearing trousers, not a skirt. She straightened and, ignoring her incoming flush, just nodded at Vincent and the blue-haired man, turning towards the pantry.

In the meantime, the kitchen had become busy, no doubt other members arriving to break their fast. From what Sabine could tell, there weren't any servants. She bit her lip. She didn't know how to cook. Well, a good start would be tea. Strong tea.

She'd received a cursory tour of the palace, including the kitchens, and after struggling to remember where the wealth of teas and coffees were, she found it in a very well organized pull out drawer. She frowned at the numerous labeled jars for a moment and then grabbed the English Breakfast blend. Father Time had made her a cup with a very interesting tea bag but loose leaf was better.

While she was waiting for her tea to steep, Sabine watched a red-haired man swooped in and attempted to take Mei Ling's coffee which was swiftly intercepted by a punch to the gut. Her eyes widened at the violence so early in the morning. Still, she added a splash of milk and a spoon of sugar to her cup and squirreled it away to the large table across the kitchen, taking a seat near one of the corners and curling around her tea.